examination of the heart 204 ness, defamations, and grumbling, wash them away and atone for them by worthy penance. Then, curb your tongue starting now, and ask the Lord to set a guard before your mouth and a gatekeeper at your lips (cf. Ps 141:3), so that you would not speak anything unworthy of a religious. After Holy Communion 1. “they found the stone rolled away from the tomb” (Lk 24:2). Consider that these women, who were holy and devoted to Christ, found the Lord’s tomb in a state different from the one they imagined: namely, they found the stone, about which they had been worrying so much, rolled back. Yet they did not find the Lord’s body, whose presence there they did not doubt. Hence, they became overwhelmed with great anxiety, and began weeping. Magdalene laments about this, saying: “they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid [H]im” (Jn 20:13). Thus, the stone, made heavier by more than a few faults, was rolled back from your conscience today. But if you no longer find within your heart the One who just now has been placed there, you ought to break down in great sorrow and tears. How very quickly did vain amusements, unsuitable matters, and trifling occupations expel Jesus from you! How quickly they snatched Him away from you! Oh beware, beware henceforth, lest you lose this great Good! 2. “And they remembered [H]is words” (Lk 24:8). Consider how our perception is influenced by events. In the past, neither Magdalene nor the disciples understood the Master speaking about His Resurrection; but [f.44r] when they did not find Him in the tomb, their eyes were opened, and then they remembered His words. Notice that, for the most part, this also happens to you: When you are taught something by Christ the Lord, or by His Spirit, or by His Vicars, that is, your spiritual directors, you do not understand it until you learn it through experience.
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